November 2006: 2nd Place at the Wyborowa Exquisite Cocktail Competition at the International Cocktail Experience.

March 2007: Winner of the Martin Miller's Cocktail Competition (Newcomer).

July 2007: UK Winner 42 Below Cocktail World Cup and went on to represent England in New Zealand.

November 2007: Placed 3rd in Bols Cocktail Competition.

April 2008: Featured in Class Top Females in the Industry.

June 2008: Judge at 42 Below National Finals.

July 2008: WSET Wine and Spirits.

May 2009: Judge at Distil Bar Show .

Your claim to fame?

On the Journalism front, I had to arrange an interview with President Bush for The Sunday Times.

On the Bar front, made front page news in New Zealand after I bungee jumped, whilst making a cosmopolitan and losing my trainer mid flight into the depths of the river below.

On the general front, dined with Sir George Martin Smith at the Ivor Novello Music Awards.

Q&A

What do you as a mixologist think about beer? Any brews of note for you?
I don't think consumers are aware that there are so many different beers out there to try and so stick to names that they know.

If you could offer a couple of short pieces of advice to the average bartender, what would they be?
Watch as many bartenders as possible and learn from them. Challenge yourself.

Surely you have some pet peeves about bartenders -- care to share?
We find it hard to switch off from work! At 3am, after work I just want a quick jager and to chat nonsense - not to debate whether to put vermouth directly in a martini glass or in the mixing glass.

How did you get started?
I was fed up explaining the sizing system at Ted Baker where I used to work part time for a few years. I knew I liked working with people, so it seemed the logical next step.

How were you trained in bartending?
Worked for bars who placed a huge emphasis on continuous training and development of the bartender. From there I learned from watching and learning form others around me.

Did you take any courses?
Not in bartending, but in wine and spirits.

What are some trends you're seeing in the market?
There's more of an appreciation of different styles within spirit categories. I love the fact that supermarkets now have an increasing range of spirits on their shelves.

What's your process for creating a new cocktail?
If it is for a certain spirit, I like to work on it's taste and aroma profile and build on that. I don't like to mask a spirit. Prohibition is over - we have a heck of a lot of good booze out there - let it do the talking.

What is your favourite cocktail to drink? To make?
This really depends on my mood some days I'll love a Clover Club and sometimes a Dark and Stormy. Some days I'll love making a magic Old Fashioned, and others making a show-stopper of a Mint Julep will tick the boxes.

What are some of your favourite tools?
Mexican elbows - life changing.